Kevin Cramer

Noem was chosen by the president-elect to lead the department responsible for immigration and border-related actions that will be central to his plans for mass deportations and tightened border access.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be Homeland Security secretary, greets Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., right, during her Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing Friday. Noem was introduced by Cramer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Pete Hegseth, Trump's defense pick, was met with a friendly reception by Senate Republicans at his Tuesday hearing before the Armed Services Committee.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be Homeland Security secretary, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., left, and Hogan Gidley, aide to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., are seen in Hart Building in December.

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth will publicly face senators for the first time Tuesday after weeks of privately pushing back on criticism over his qualifications and personal past.Hegseth, a 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News Channel weekend host, has faced strong criticism from Democrats over his thin resume compared to previous defense secretaries, along with allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and mismanagement of veterans organization finances — all of which he denies.Many Republicans have been vocally supportive of Hegseth’s nomination, but others have remained noncommittal as the reports surfaced about his past behavior.President-elect Donald Trump has remained strongly supportive of Hegseth, who has worked to win favor with Senate Republicans in one-on-one meetings over the last month.Trump posted on social media in December that “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”Here’s what to watch as Hegseth’s hearing gets underway on Tuesday morning:How he would run the departmentRepublicans have said they view Hegseth’s combat experience as an asset, but Democrats say they are deeply concerned that he is largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage.The PentagonThe Defense Department has a budget exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 1.4 million in the National Guard and Reserves and civilian employees based worldwide. Hegseth would face a daunting array of global crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the growing competition with China.Look for Democrats to question Hegseth on the specifics of how he would manage the huge department — and how he would represent the United States in diplomatic situations around the world.“We need a serious candidate, one that is capable of doing this job,” said Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat on the committee.Republicans say his resume is an advantage over traditional Pentagon leaders and praise him for wanting to overhaul the department.“While maybe not the credentials that have traditionally been on the resume of nominees for secretary of defense, I think that he brings plenty and he brings some things that some of those more traditional nominees didn’t bring,” said North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican member of the panel. “He’ll be disruptive in a good way.”Women in combatHegseth said as recently as last year that women “straight up” should not serve in combat roles. So attention will be on the two female Iraq War veterans on the committee — Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa and Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who lost both legs when a Blackhawk helicopter she was piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.Sen. Tammy DuckworthDuckworth said ahead of the hearing that she will question Hegseth on whether he will try and reduce the role of women in combat and how he would do so. How would it affect recruiting? Would men be deployed more often as a result? “We can’t go to war without them,” she said.Ernst has met with Hegseth twice after saying she wants to hear more about his views. She has not yet said if she will support him.Hegseth said on "The Megyn Kelly Show” in December that “if we have the right standard and women meet that standard, roger. Let’s go.”Allegations of sexual assaultHegseth has been fighting back against allegations of excessive drinking and the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies.Sen. Joni ErnstDemocrats are expected to demand an explanation from Hegseth. In a letter to him last week, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is on the Armed Services panel, questioned if Hegseth would be able to lead, saying she was “deeply concerned by the many ways in which your past behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit."Republican Sen. Ernst, who is a survivor of sexual assault, said her second meeting with Hegseth had “ encouraging conversations.” She said Hegseth committed “to completing a full audit of the Pentagon” and to hiring a senior official who will “prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.”Many Republicans have rallied around Hegseth, with some appearing to question if the reports are true. Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty said last month that it is a “shame” that something that has been previously investigated “is back to some he said, she said thing.”Will he have the votes?Hegseth is likely to have near-unanimous Republican support on the committee and potentially in the full Senate. But it could depend on how effectively he is able to defend himself, and his point of view, in the hearing. He can only lose four Republican votes in the 53-47 Senate if all Democrats vote against his confirmation, as Vice President-elect JD Vance could cast a tie-breaking vote.South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of the Armed Services panel, said Hegseth has been straightforward with Republican senators that he knows he will have to address some of the allegations against him.“I think he will,” Rounds said, “and at the same time, we’ll give him ample opportunity to talk about what he believes his role would be as a secretary, and the vision that he has for the department.”Rounds said he expects to support Hegseth, unless anything changes. “I think the president gets the benefit of the doubt in his nominees,” he said.Campaign Action

Defense secretary nominee will publicly face senators for the first time after weeks of privately pushing back on criticism

The son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., will serve 28 years in prison for killing a Mercer County sheriff's deputy during a crash in December 2023 while fleeing law enforcement.

Jimmy Carter is being remembered in North Dakota as a man whose contributions to the country went far beyond politics.

North Dakota's former Gov. Doug Burgum dominated the state's 2024 political news cycle, but there were several notable moments from the year that shouldn't be overlooked. Here's the Tribune's rundown.

Republicans who oppose Trump's Cabinet nominees could find themselves with a lump of coal — or a primary challenger — in the next Congress.

President Biden is commuting the sentences for 37 of the 40 convicted murderers on federal death row, reclassifying them to life in prison without parole.

It was government shutdown season in Washington, and all through the House, many creatures were stirring — most notably Elon Musk.Lawmakers in Congress were expecting a glide path to the holidays. They had a bipartisan deal that would keep the government funded and send them all on their merry way back to their districts. But then they got a taste of what the next four years might be like with Donald Trump back in the White House and Musk, the world’s richest man, wielding enormous power over the political process. On Wednesday, Trump — with help from Musk — effectively killed the funding legislation put together by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a 1,500-page bill packed with the byproduct of the traditional horse-trading that generally defines congressional dealmaking.Conservative Republicans and right-wing talkers blasted the plan as the sort of status quo Washington politics that Trump campaigned to end during the election. But as negotiations continued, the president-elect remained on the sidelines.That ended late Wednesday, when Trump torched the plan as “ridiculous and extraordinarily expensive” and doomed it. Less than a day later, House Republicans released a 116-page plan to keep the government open through March 14. The plan had the support of both Trump and Musk, the billionaire who was Republicans’ biggest 2024 political donor and a frequent presence in Trump’s orbit. But even after a significant arm-twisting and primary threats from Trump and his allies, the new plan went down in flames on the House floor Thursday night with significant Republican opposition. It left less than a day before a potential government shutdown.The failure was a defeat for Trump, who — despite his election win — still cannot single-handedly control everything that happens in Washington. “To say this is alarming and a setback is an absolute understatement,” a veteran Republican operative said.But even in the measure’s failure, the negotiations over the budget deal have solidified a handful of new political truths: With President Joe Biden staying completely silent on the negotiations, he has left a void allowing Trump to position himself as a second president, while Johnson’s status as speaker is contingent on keeping Trump happy, and Musk’s role as the nascent administration’s muscle and money is now not just hypothetical but rather something he can use to try to move votes and potentially end political careers.‘A new sheriff in town’Musk has his money, but he also has his megaphone. He has the most followers on the social media platform X — more than 208 million — which is not entirely surprising since he owns the site. Musk, who spent more than $250 million getting Trump elected, posted about his opposition to the original spending deal well over 100 times over the past two days, with threats to fund primary challenges to anyone who voted for the plan, which was six weeks in the making.“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk posted Wednesday afternoon on X. Later in the day, Trump himself came out against it, making it clear the bill was done. “I told him that if he agrees with me that he could put out a statement,” Trump told NBC News, referring to Musk’s opposition to the original congressional funding deal.Musk’s outsized role in the saga opened up new scrutiny of his position as an unelected official and the power he appears to have to move votes. Trump has named Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to run a new nongovernment agency aimed at increasing “government efficiency.”Trump’s team was quick to tamp down any suggestion that Musk was truly pulling the strings.“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the [continuing resolution], Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”On Thursday morning, Trump was also quick to tell NBC News in a phone interview that Musk’s flurry of social media posts opposing the original deal came with his blessing.“I told him that if he agrees with me that he could put out a statement,” Trump said. “He’s looking at things from a cost standpoint.”Donald Trump Jr. — who had also been posting in opposition to the first bill — said in a brief interview Thursday that the original continuing resolution that his father effectively tanked was “ridiculous.” Asked about Musk’s and his father’s roles in torpedoing the resolution, Trump Jr. said, “I think they both agree on the insanity of what was in there: 1,500 pages that no one has a possibility to digest.”The shutdown fight was the first postelection test for Trump and his ability to once again whip Republicans who do not yet control the White House or the Senate, and it put a spotlight on the role Musk is likely to play at least in the early days of his second administration.After the original deal was scrapped, some Democrats began calling Musk the functional president-elect, while some Republican budget hawks called on him to replace Johnson as speaker of the House.“It appears that Elon Musk is trying to take the role as an unelected president. And in fact, Donald Trump, it appears, is following his orders,” Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said Thursday on CNN. “The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, posted on social media. “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk ... think about it. .. nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”Many of Fox News’ prime-time hosts, all famously MAGA allies, were particularly pleased with Musk’s efforts to kill the bill Wednesday night. Sean Hannity said there’s “a new sheriff in town.” Jesse Watters said Musk “blew up the bill all day.” By Thursday morning, “Fox and Friends,” the network’s flagship morning program, was marveling at the new power Musk wielded. Musk is now “the center of the universe on Capitol Hill in a way that nobody has ever seen,” Peter Doocy said. After the new bill was announced, Musk pushed back against significant chatter that he was the true architect, instead giving Trump and Johnson credit.“I’m not the author of this proposal,” he posted. “Credit to @realDonaldTrump, @JdVance, and @SpeakerJohnson.”No plan forward for now One of the Republicans who rejected the new Trump-blessed spending deal Thursday was Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.“Yes, I think this bill is better than it was yesterday on certain respects, but to take this bill ... and congratulate yourself because it’s shorter in pages — but increases the debt by $5 trillion — is asinine, and that’s precisely what Republicans are doing,” Roy said in a fiery floor speech before the so-called plan B budget deal was defeated.Roy was among the most vocal Republicans opposing the reconfigured budget deal because of Trump’s request to abolish the country’s debt ceiling — which is often used as a political football — without significant spending reductions in exchange. He was joined by nearly 40 Republican members of the House in killing the deal. The proposal the House voted on would have pushed off the debt ceiling until January 2027.Roy’s public opposition earned him direct threats from Trump about a primary challenge. The threats came with a mention of former Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, who lost to a Trump-backed challenger this year.Johnson’s speakership was threatened by some in conservative media, but he appeared to have kept Trump’s support for now by getting the new deal to the floor. After its failure, he tried to spin attempts at a budget deal forward.“We will regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” Johnson told reporters after his second attempt at a budget deal was defeated on the House floor.Still, at a gathering of conservative activists across the country in Phoenix on Thursday, there was jubilation that they had managed to torpedo the original legislation. “In just the last 24 hours, we did something that we never would have been able to do before,” Charlie Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point, said at its annual AmericaFest conference, adding, “I want to show the power that you have — is that you, everybody in this room and everyone watching online — you defeated the Washington insiders in hours, everybody, and that CR is dead.”But the proposal’s defeat leaves no plan in place as the clock ticks down on a government shutdown — one that could drag into the holidays and into the busy month of January, when a new Congress will take office, the election results need to be certified and Trump is set to be inaugurated. “There is no new agreement right now, just, you know, obviously looking at a number of options,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters after the second budget deal was defeated.After the vote, Musk blamed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York for the GOP-led House’s killing the proposal.“Objectively, the vast majority of Republican House members voted for the spending bill, but only 2 Democrats did,” he posted on X. “Therefore, if the government shuts down, it is obviously the fault of @RepJeffries and the Democratic Party.”The Trump-approved budget deal did include disaster relief for states ravaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton, money for construction projects and environmental cleanup, an extension of the farm bill, funding for millions for conservation efforts and rural development disaster assistance.But it also removed a number of other provisions — and, significantly, Republicans did not consult Democrats in putting the new legislation together, unlike they did with the first one. Blindsided Democrats largely came out in opposition, saying Americans will be hurt because of the significant spending that was removed from the original deal, and they directed their anger at Musk’s role in shaping the plan.“Elon Musk ordered his puppet President-elect and House Republicans to break the bipartisan agreement reached to keep government open,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, wrote on X. “House Republicans are abdicating their responsibility to the American people and siding with billionaires and special interests.”Jeffries used his House floor speech to try to turn the spending problem in question on Republicans and Trump’s first four years in office.“In our nation’s history, 25% of our nation’s debt was accumulated during the four years of the former president, 25%. How dare you lecture America about fiscal responsibility — ever,” he said.Trump, who spent considerable political capital pushing the second proposed spending plan, has not yet commented on its failure. But Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., suggested that if Trump did speak out — again — it might make a difference. “Quite honestly, I think one of the ways that this could get fixed fairly quickly would be if President Trump would come up to Washington tomorrow or spend the weekend here and talk to people face to face,” he said Thursday evening. “Let’s face it. ... He’s got a lot of sway and persuasion. He acts more like the sitting president than the sitting president. And if he’d come up, I think he could help move things along.”Peter Nicholas, Nnamdi Egwuonwu, Brennan Leach, Andrew Kirell and David Ingram contributed.This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:Biden stays on the sidelines as Congress scrambles over a looming shutdownUnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione hit with federal charges in New York after waiving extraditionHere’s what happens if the government shuts down right before the holidays

Kelly Armstrong on Sunday assumed office as the 34th governor in the 135-year history of North Dakota.

Fallen trees and debris are seen on the Blue Ridge Parkway in October after Hurricane Helene.

Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Homeland Security secretary, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., on Tuesday.

Hegseth's ability to win confirmation by the Senate is in doubt as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat.

'Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep,' Trump said in a Friday statement.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said on Sunday that he doesn't believe the woman who accused Trump's secretary of defense nominee of sexual assault.Fox News host Pete Hegseth, whom Trump tapped to head the DOD, was accused of rape in 2017 by a woman who attended a Republican women event in California. Her accusations are detailed in a 22-page police report, which Trump’s team allegedly did not know about before Trump tapped Hegseth for a Cabinet role. “He wasn’t charged. He wasn’t even kind of charged in this. There was no crime committed. The police dropped everything there," Mullin told CNN's Dana Bash of the rape allegation against Pete Hegseth. “What’s unfortunate, in today’s world, you can be accused of anything, and then, especially if it’s something like this, you’re automatically assumed to be guilty,” Mullin added.xDANA BASH: You believe Hegseth's part of the story, and not her's?MARKWAYNE MULLIN: Absolutely. pic.twitter.com/QxH05GSQwD— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 24, 2024While it’s true Hegseth wasn't charged after the police report was filed, that doesn’t necessarily clear him of wrongdoing.Prosecutors may not have believed there was enough evidence to prove the allegation beyond a reasonable doubt—something that happens often in rape cases as they are often based on competing accounts from the accuser and the accused.“Out of every 1000 instances of rape, only 13 cases get referred to a prosecutor, and only 7 cases will lead to a felony conviction,” according to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network.What’s more, Hegseth paid the accuser off to keep quiet about her allegations, which Hegseth reportedly feared could have cost him his Fox News gig.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who was rumored to be on Trump’s shortlist to serve as Treasury secretary, said most American’s “don’t care” whether Trump uses the FBI to vet his nominees, something fellow Republican senators have demanded. Hagerty argued over the weekend that it doesn’t make a difference to most Americans whether the FBI or [...]

Senate Republicans derailed President-elect Donald Trump’s first jaw-dropping pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz. But it’s unclear if they will be able to block any other controversial nominees despite skepticism from some rank-and-file Republicans.In the weeks since Trump’s dramatic election victory, the power struggle between the president-elect and independent-minded Senate Republicans has been playing out in plain view. There had been questions about whether the new Senate GOP majority would simply kowtow to Trump, the party’s most dominant figure, and toss aside its constitutional duty of advise and consent.Instead, a handful of GOP senators flexed their muscles and rejected Gaetz. Now their political resolve will be tested several more times as Trump’s frustration builds and the MAGA base demands that Republicans rally behind Trump and quickly get his team in place. Senators are getting a brief reprieve from questions about Trump’s nominees as they celebrate Thanksgiving. But when they return next week, the scrutiny will intensify and focus on a trio of Cabinet picks who are raising alarm bells on Capitol Hill and beyond: Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence; Pete Hegseth for defense secretary; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary.Trump appointments and nomineesHere are some of the people that President-elect Donald Trump has named for high-profile positions in his administration. Positions in orange require Senate confirmation.var pymParent = new pym.Parent('trump-admin', 'https://media.nbcnewyork.com/assets/editorial/national/2024/trump-admin-noms/index.html', {title: '', parenturlparam: '', parenturlvalue: ''});Source: NBC NewsWith the media spotlight off Gaetz, some Republican senators conceded that Trump’s other embattled picks will now be under the microscope. Hegseth, for example, is facing questions about a 2017 incident where a woman told police he took her phone and blocked her from leaving his hotel room before sexually assaulting her. Hegseth was not charged and has denied the allegations while confirming he paid the accuser in a confidential settlement, but the issue has come up in his meetings with Armed Services Committee members whose votes he will need.“Well, it’s a pretty big problem, given that we have ... a sexual assault problem in our military,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who added that he backed bipartisan legislation by Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to prevent sexual assault in the military.“This is why you have background checks, this is why you have hearings, this is why you have to go through the scrutiny,” Cramer continued. “I’m not going to pre-judge him, but yeah, it’s a pretty concerning accusation.”Political capitalBefore Gaetz withdrew his name, Cramer had warned that the Trump transition team was at risk of spending too much “political capital” fighting for a doomed Cabinet pick before the party even begins tackling its 2025 legislative agenda. The former Florida congressman had too much baggage, Cramer and others said — stemming from a yearslong sexual misconduct ethics probe and Gaetz’s successful campaign to topple GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year — to win the 51 votes needed to be confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement official.Republicans will control 53 seats in the new Senate, meaning they can only afford three GOP defections on any vote to confirm a nominee or pass legislation with Vice President JD Vance serving as the tie-breaker.Rather than drag out the fight for several more weeks, Gaetz dropped out of contention Thursday, paving the way for Trump to name former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department. The Bondi choice was cheered by Republicans, and she is expected to have a much easier path to confirmation.How much political capital Trump is willing to burn on other picks with baggage of their own is still an open question. Some Senate Republicans who leveled some of the strongest criticism at Gaetz said they could live with Hegseth, despite the 2017 assault allegations.“He wasn’t charged. He wasn’t even kind of charged in this. There was no crime committed. The police dropped everything there. ...” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a Trump ally and vocal Gaetz critic, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “And so that doesn’t prevent Pete from moving forward in this.”Potential red flagsKennedy and Gabbard have their own past controversies that could become red flags for senators. Kennedy, whom Trump picked to be one of his top health officials, has made numerous false or misleading claims about vaccines, fluoride, raw milk and other things that would come under his purview if confirmed. As HHS secretary, Kennedy would oversee 13 federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.Asked about RFK Jr’s position on vaccines, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Health committee that will host Kennedy’s confirmation hearing, told reporters that “as a parent” she would continue to advocate for the “benefits of modern medicine.”​​Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a close Trump ally, said on Fox News on Sunday he’s done an “unofficial whip count” on RFK, adding that he’s heard concerns but felt assured that the soon-to-be HHS nominee should be “confirmed quite easily.”Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman who changed parties and endorsed Trump, has faced scrutiny by Democrats — as well as some Republicans — for making positive comments about Russia and meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2017. “I think she’s compromised ... Russian-controlled media called her a Russian asset,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a decorated Iraq War veteran and Armed Services member, said on CNN Sunday. She added that she didn’t think Gabbard could pass an FBI background check.Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., shot back on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” labeling Duckworth’s insults about Gabbard “a slur.” “There’s no evidence that she’s an asset of another country,” he said. In a statement, Trump communications director Steven Cheung said, “President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration.”No vettingFBI background checks are typically conducted on executive branch nominees and appointees. But the Trump team has yet to submit any of his picks for such vetting.On Sunday, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., defended the move, saying Americans do not care about who conducts the vetting process.“I don’t think the American public cares who does the background checks. What the American public cares about is to see the mandate that they voted in delivered upon,” Hagerty, Trump’s former ambassador to Japan, said on ABC’s “This Week.”Democrats say that FBI background checks may save Trump and his team a lot of hassle and embarrassment. “He may have still decided to nominate Matt Gaetz, but if they did a thorough vetting, he may have decided not to,” Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.“That vetting process, having the FBI review potential nominees, is not only to protect the public interests, it’s to protect the president-elect’s interests, to make sure that he’s not embarrassed by nominating someone like Matt Gaetz.”Gabe Gutierrez, Ryan Nobles, Julie Tsirkin, Kate Santaliz and Hallie Jackson contributed.This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:Senator introduces bill to compel more transparency from AI developersTop federal prosecutor in New York announces resignationGOP senator argues Americans ‘don’t care’ who conducts background checks for Trump Cabinet picks

Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Chairman Mark Fox called Burgum’s nomination for secretary of the Interior and National Energy Council chair a “match made in heaven” for state tribes.

Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty suggested that Americans don't care about traditional FBI background checks for President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks as Democrats call for deeper vetting of executive branch nominees.

Republicans seem relieved they won't have to vote on whether Gaetz should be attorney general.

Earlier, Gaetz launched an effort to personally secure his embattled nomination, meeting with Republican senators behind closed doors.

Gaetz met for hours behind closed doors Wednesday with Republican senators who have questions about the sexual misconduct and other allegations against him.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) weighs in on the impact of the House Ethics report on the expected attorney-general nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and the role it might play in the Senate’s advice and consent. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addresses the nuclear threat from Russian President Putin in an exclusive sit-down with NBC News. Chuck Todd examines President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks.

Sen. John Thune has won an internal election among Republican senators to become the chamber’s next majority leader.

'Thune defeated Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn'

As Republicans gain control of the Senate majority, multiple senators are fighting for votes for majority leader after the 2024 election.

Senate Republicans will meet behind closed doors to elect a new leader, capping a battle that has divided the party and pitted a candidate backed by vocal MAGA allies of President-elect Donald Trump against two long-serving senators with institutional knowledge and deep relationships in the body.

Senate Republicans selected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota to be their leader in the next Congress, three sources with knowledge said, replacing longtime leader Mitch McConnell who is stepping down from the top job after a record 18 years.Thune, the Senate Republican whip, ran against two other senators for leader: John Cornyn of Texas, a former whip and Rick Scott of Florida, an underdog candidate who just won a second term.The senators met behind closed doors Wednesday to vote by secret ballot, capping a battle that divided the party and pitted Scott, a candidate backed by vocal MAGA allies of President-elect Donald Trump, against two long-serving senators with institutional knowledge and deep relationships in the body.After a first round of balloting, Scott was eliminated, two sources with direct knowledge of the vote told NBC News. The race came down to Thune and Cornyn on the second ballot.Senate Republicans held a candidate forum Tuesday evening after Congress returned from a lengthy recess.The secret ballot election began Wednesday morning with incumbent and newly elected senators able to vote. Only a handful of members said how they would vote, with most holding their cards close to the vest.The winner will be majority leader for the next two years after Republicans won control of the Senate in the elections. The victor will replace Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is stepping down from party leadership after an 18-year tenure that made him the longest-serving leader in Senate history.Thune and Cornyn, who were first elected during George W. Bush’s presidency, hail from an institutionalist wing of the GOP and have climbed their way up the ladder. Both have long-standing relationships within the conference and can claim to be next in line, with each having served as the No. 2 Republican for six years.Before the vote, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-S.D., said he was supporting Thune but admitted there’s “very little” difference between him and Cornyn. “Although Cornyn told me yesterday ... people are saying they’re a mirror image of each other. To which I say, I think John Thune would take offense to that,” Cramer said.Colleagues viewed Scott, first elected in 2018, as a more divisive figure, and he has been a vocal critic of McConnell for years. He aligned himself solidly with the party’s MAGA wing and had secured some endorsements for the job from Trump allies, including right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, billionaire benefactor Elon Musk and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.“I think I’m uniquely positioned to really help get the Trump agenda done. ... I’m optimistic I’m going to win. I’m talking about the things that people say they care about, and so we’ll see,” Scott told NBC News on Tuesday.But Trump, notably, didn’t weigh in. His ability to anoint his chosen leader was complicated by the secret ballot, which means he won’t know which senators voted against his preferred candidate — or be able to politically punish them.All three candidates ran on promises to carry out Trump’s agenda, a clear point of agreement among them.Thune and Cornyn also touted their fundraising prowess and donations to help colleagues win elections.“As Congress returns to Washington, we must prepare the Senate to advance [Trump’s] agenda legislatively and ensure that the president-elect can hit the ground running with his appointees confirmed as soon as possible,” Thune wrote in an op-ed for FoxNews.com. “The Senate Republican majority will work with President Trump to ensure the Senate calendar allows us to confirm his nominees and pass our shared agenda as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”In a letter to fellow Senate Republicans on Tuesday, Cornyn wrote, “In order to Make America Great Again, we must Make the Senate Work Again,” and he promised to decentralize power.“To that end, we will reinvest in a Senate committee process to drive an aggressive legislative agenda that secures our border, reduces federal spending, boosts our economy, unleashes the nation’s energy potential, and reverses bad Biden-Harris policies,” Cornyn continued. “Our default position for legislation considered on the floor will be an open amendment process managed by the committee chairs to allow for amendments and increase debate.”As part of the leadership shakeup, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming is also running unopposed for the No. 2 position of majority whip. And the No. 3 slot features a battle between Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joni Ernst of Iowa.Asked about Cotton’s team exuding confidence that he has the votes, Ernst said she’s not so sure.“Kamala Harris thought she had the votes, too,” Ernst said.This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:Trump thanks Biden for ‘smooth transition’ in White House meetingTrump endorses Mike Johnson for speaker in meeting with House RepublicansSpecial counsel Jack Smith and his team to resign before Trump takes office

Senate Republicans met on Tuesday night to hear from the three candidates to succeed Mitch McConnell, and Rick Scott left with two new endorsements.

'Ten GOP members have endorsed a candidate so far'

The Senate majority leader had not extended invitations to two candidates in close races.

A Republican U.S. senator from North Dakota who ousted a Democrat in 2018 is now facing a Democrat challenger making her second Senate bid

Bill allowing 25,000 into country should be common sense and an easy political lift

The GOP presidential nominee's pitches to working-class voters — including capping credit card interest rates — aren't convincing members of his party on Capitol Hill.

Senate Republicans are letting the air out on House Republican efforts to pump up a partisan standoff over federal funding, which they fear could risk an embarrassing government shutdown a few weeks before Election Day. With the prospect of a Senate Republican majority in 2025 tantalizingly close, GOP senators don’t want to let a proposal [...]

A bipartisan group of senators is demanding immediate action from USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack after several tribal nations reported that a federal food distribution program they rely on has not fulfilled orders for months, and in some cases has delivered expired food.

Kristen Welker anchors Meet the Press NOW live from Milwaukee on the final day of the Republican National Convention. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) discuss their expectations for former President Donald Trump's address. NBC News Chief Political Analyst Chuck Todd breaks down calls for President Biden to step down amid growing pressure inside the Democratic Party. NBC News Campaign Embed Alex Tabet looks at the sights and sounds of the convention.

MILWAUKEE — Republicans find themselves in a somewhat unusual position: Fully in sync, while Democrats hash out a major internal disagreement in public. It’s been a remarkable split-screen playing out this week. Republicans are gathered in Wisconsin, unified and energized behind former President Trump’s candidacy, while Democrats are in open disagreement over whether President Biden [...]

MILWAUKEE — Republicans find themselves in a somewhat unusual position: Fully in sync, while Democrats hash out a major internal disagreement in public. It’s been a remarkable split-screen playing out this week. Republicans are gathered in Wisconsin, unified and energized behind former President Trump’s candidacy, while Democrats are in open disagreement over whether President Biden [...]

MILWAUKEE — Republicans find themselves in a somewhat unusual position: Fully in sync, while Democrats hash out a major internal disagreement in public. It’s been a remarkable split-screen playing out this week. Republicans are gathered in Wisconsin, unified and energized behind former President Trump’s candidacy, while Democrats are in open disagreement over whether President Biden [...]

MILWAUKEE — Republicans find themselves in a somewhat unusual position: Fully in sync, while Democrats hash out a major internal disagreement in public. It’s been a remarkable split-screen playing out this week. Republicans are gathered in Wisconsin, unified and energized behind former President Trump’s candidacy, while Democrats are in open disagreement over whether President Biden [...]

MILWAUKEE — Republicans find themselves in a somewhat unusual position: Fully in sync, while Democrats hash out a major internal disagreement in public. It’s been a remarkable split-screen playing out this week. Republicans are gathered in Wisconsin, unified and energized behind former President Trump’s candidacy, while Democrats are in open disagreement over whether President Biden [...]

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., says the Secret Service provided little information to senators and did not take more than four questions, with no follow ups, at a briefing.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) talks to Kristen Welker about a confrontation at the Republican National Convention between the Secret Service director and a group of Republican senators.